Vioxx Lawsuit Filed in Spokane Washington

An article by Bill Morlin for the Spokesman-Review.com, says that the first Vioxx lawsuit to be filed in the Spokane area has been filed against Merck & Co. The suit was filed by attorneys Robert Crotty and Matthew Zuchetto on behalf of William Schmidt, who lives in Spokane Valley and represents the estate of his late wife, Florence.

The 75-year-old Spokane Valley woman, suffering from arthritis, took the drug from November 2000 until Jan. 28, 2002, when she suffered a stroke. She died two weeks later.

This Vioxx lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for “pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of capacity to enjoy life and loss of consortium.”

“What happened here is egregious,” Crotty said Friday. “It should have never happened.”

“Merck continued to aggressively advertise, market and defend the safety of Vioxx” until last Sept. 30 when the drug company “finally admitted that the drug doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke.” the suit says.

“The withdrawal came too late for Florence Schmidt, who took Vioxx without notice of the inherent risks to her health or the opportunity to switch from Vioxx to safer products for pain relief from her arthritic condition,” the suit said.

For the complete story: Vioxx Lawsuit
For related article: Illinois Vioxx Lawsuit and Federal Judges Meet to Discuss Vioxx Problem